The National Population Register (NPR) is a register of usual residents of the country being prepared at the local (village/sub-town), sub-district, district, state and national level under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and therefore the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. It is mandatory for each usual resident of India to register within the NPR. Under the NPR, a usual resident is defined as an individual who has resided during a local area for the past six months or more or a person who intends to reside therein area for the subsequent six months or more.
WHO IS USUAL RESIDENT OF INDIA
A usual resident is defined, for the needs of the NPR, as a person who has resided in a local area for the past six months or more, or a person who plans to reside in that area for the next 6 months.
The law compulsorily seeks to register every citizen of India and issue a national card.
What is its purpose?
NPR's purpose is to make a comprehensive identity database of each usual resident within the country. The database would contain demographic also as biometric particulars. Aadhaar, mobile number, PAN, driving license, voter ID details, and Indian passport numbers are among the details that will be collected from all usual residents of India. Sharing of Aadhaar is voluntary in view of the Supreme Court ruling in this regard.
WHAT INFORMATION WILL BE COLLECTED UNDER NPR
The objective of the NPR is to make a comprehensive identity database of each usual resident within the country. The database would contain demographic particulars such as:
- Name
- Relationship to head of household
- Father's name
- Mother's name
- Spouse's name (if married)
- Sex
- Date of birth
- Marital status
- Place of birth
- Nationality (as declared)
- Present address of usual residence
- Duration of stay at present address
- Permanent residential address
- Occupation
- Educational qualification
WHAT DOCUMENTS NEED TO PRODUCE FOR NPR
During the NPR, a respondent won't require to supply any document. As per a press release was given by Home Minister Amit Shah to press agency ANI, NPR information is going to be self-attested, that is, whatever information is provided by the respondent will be deemed correct and no documents or biometric would be required.
WHO WILL CONDUCT NPR
The process of updating NPR is going to be administered under the aegis of the Registrar General and ex-Officio Census Commissioner, India
What is the current status?
Data for NPR was collected in 2010 during the collection of data for the Census of India 2011. It was updated in 2015 through a door-to-door survey. The digitization of the updated information has been completed. NPR data will now be updated alongside the house-listing phase of Census 2021 from April-September 2020 altogether states except Assam. A gazette notification to the present effect has already been published by the central government.
Why is Assam excluded
As of now, the NPR exercise is not being undertaken in Assam. Assam recently had the NRC exercise undertaken to identify and detain illegal immigrants. The purpose of a pan-India NRC it to detect illegal immigrants and detain them, regardless of faith, however, there are concerns it could arbitrarily exclude genuine Indian citizens.
How can NPR data be accessed
NPR data will not be put in the public domain but will remain a secure database accessible to the relevant user through password protected protocols. The government says it will use the data to enhance the targeting of beneficiary-oriented schemes and will have implications for improving internal security.
HOW IS NPR DIFFERENT THAN NRC
National Population Register may be a database of individuals living in India, citizens or not, but the National Register of Citizens may be a database of Indian citizens. The NRC process needs proof of citizenship from the respondents. Those who found in want of the proof may face deportation or detention in the long run. But in NPR, there's no got to provide any documentation.
WILL ANYONE LOSE CITIZENSHIP BECAUSE OF NPR
It is possible that some names are missed within the NPR, still their citizenship won't be revoked because this is often not the method of NRC. The NRC is a different process. I want to form it clear that no-one will lose citizenship due to NPR Amit Shah said.
WHAT IS THE USE OF NPR
The question remains that if the govt has Census than why does it need NPR.
The officials say that NPR data helps identify the demographics of actual residents who are going to be direct beneficiaries of any schemes launched within the area.
For example, a majority of permanent residents of an industrial town in Gujarat may be Gujarati speaking, but the majority of current residents may consist of Hindu speaking people from various parts of the country. The NPR data will help the government design and adapt schemes like Jandhan Yojna, Ayushman Bharat or medium of instruction in schools as per the present demographics, thus making the schemes more effective.
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